UNILAG crisis: Politics that almost stalled emergence of acting VC
The battle for supremacy by contending forces
in the crisis rocking the University of Lagos, UNILAG, that almost stalled the
sitting of the Senate of the university on Monday, almost prevented the
Governing Council from holding its meeting on Tuesday where the election of
Prof. Folasade Ogunsola as the Acting Vice-Chancellor was ratified, an
investigation by Vanguard has revealed.
The battle for supremacy by contending forces
in the crisis rocking the University of Lagos, UNILAG, that almost stalled the
sitting of the Senate of the university on Monday, almost prevented the
Governing Council from holding its meeting on Tuesday where the election of
Prof. Folasade Ogunsola as the Acting Vice-Chancellor was ratified, an
investigation by Vanguard has revealed.
Riggers of elections deserve more punishment than armed robbers ― Wike
GOVERNOR Nyesom Wike on Tuesday said those who rig elections
deserve more punishment than armed robbers because election riggers deny the
people their mandate to earn good governance. Wike, addressing Prof. Stephen
Okodudu, Acting Vice-Chancellor (VC), University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) at
Government House, Port Harcourt, Rivers state, also chided lecturers at UNIPORT
for destroying the glory of the varsity by indulgence in mainstream politics.
He said, “Rigging of election is worse than armed robbery. It
is better to punish such people more because they have denied the people their
mandate and benefits of good governance.” He told the newly appointed UNIPORT
Acting VC that, “It is appalling that the appointment of a VC for the
institution is also immersed in such political consideration. That is why there
is impasse in the emergence of a substantive VC. Politics has penetrated the
institution.
“The position of a VC used to be based on merit. The consideration
now is different. Every VC wants to align with a politician or is appointed
because of such affiliation. In turn, he recruits willing lecturers who will be
used to manipulate the electoral process. “Such trend is destroying the
university system. It distracts from the core business of teaching. After
manipulating the outcome of an election, you will turn around to say leaders
are not doing anything. “You make it possible for bad leaders to emerge and you
bemoan their inefficiency in office. How can you exonerate yourselves from such
leadership?” He charged Okodudu to lead restoration of the glory of UNIPORT,
recalling that the varsity used to be one of the best in academics, character
moulding and leadership in the country. “We want the glory of the school
restored to what it used to be. My Commissioner for Commerce whose husband
lectures in UNIPORT informed me about that bad section of the East-West Road. I
quickly sent the State Road Maintenance Agency to fix it”, he said. The Acting
VC, appointed to serve for six months within which he is expected to restore
peace, told Wike that machinery has already been set in motion to achieve the
objective, thanking the Governor for doggedness in providing quality
infrastructure to develop the state including several supports to UNIPORT.
Protests after Black man shot in the back by police in Wisconsin
To watch the video click this Link: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/protests-black-man-shot-police-wisconsin-200824110937145.html?taid=5f4431ae6a7c4e00013cada0&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter
Video
shows a man walking towards a car followed by two officers, one officer shoots
him as he opens the vehicle's door.
Protests erupted in Kenosha in the US state of Wisconsin after
police shot an apparently unarmed Black man multiple times in the back,
prompting authorities to impose a curfew.
The shooting occurred at about 5pm (22:00 GMT) as officers were
responding to what they called a "domestic incident". The victim was
immediately taken to a hospital by the police, according to a Kenosha police
department statement.
No further explanation was given by the police as to what led to
the shooting, in which one officer fired seven rounds into the man's back. The
Wisconsin Department of Justice said early on Monday that the officers involved
had been placed on administrative leave.
The incident on Sunday was likely to add to continuing outrage and
protests in the US and abroad against police brutality and racism since the
death on May 25 of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, after a white police
officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
The victim in Kenosha, identified by Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers
as Jacob Blake, was hospitalised in serious condition.
A video circulating on
social media and cited by the US media showed a man walking towards a car
followed by two officers and one of them shooting him as he opens the car door.
Soon
afterwards, multiple fires were set at the scene by a crowd that gathered to
protest the incident.
Evers,
in a tweet, said Blake had been "shot in the back multiple times in broad
daylight".
"We
stand against excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging
with Black Wisconsinites," said Evers.
'Mercilessly killed'
Social
media posts showed crowds marching down the streets of Kenosha, a city of about
100,000 people on Lake Michigan, 100km (65 miles) north of Chicago, and
throwing Molotov cocktails and bricks at police officers.
Police
responded by imposing a city-wide curfew until 7am local time (12:00 GMT).
The state's Division of
Criminal Investigation said it would aim to issue a report to prosecutors
within 30 days, US media reported.
Evers
said while full details of the incident had yet to emerge, Blake was among
Black people to have been injured or "mercilessly killed" by police
in the United States.
"We
stand with all those who have and continue to demand justice, equity and
accountability for Black lives in our country," Evers said, mentioning
Floyd and other victims of brutal law enforcement.
Civil
rights lawyer Ben Crump said Blake's three sons were in the car at the time and
he had been trying to break up a fight between two women.
"They
saw a cop shoot their father. They will be traumatised forever," Crump said
on Twitter.
Clyde McLemore, who local
Kenosha TV identified as part of a nearby chapter of the Black Lives Matter
movement, said at the scene "we're
tired of it".
"The
frustration is boiling to the top and we're sick and tired."
Depressed soldier shoots senior officer to death in Borno
“The family of the deceased has already been contacted. “The Nigerian Army sympathises and condoles with the family at this trying moment, and pray to the Almighty God to repose the soul of the departed and grant his family and other loved ones the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. “May his gentle soul rest in peace,” he said. NAN
Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/07/depressed-soldier-shoots-senior-officer-to-death-in-borno/
Coup: Ex-president Jonathan to lead West African delegation to Mali ON AUGUST 21, 20204:35
PMIN NEWS Kindly Share This
Story:FacebookTwitterEmailWhatsAppPinterestShare Dr. Goodluck Jonathan The West
African bloc ECOWAS will send envoys to Mali on Saturday, the new junta said,
after it gave the UN access to the ousted president and released two other
leaders held in a dramatic coup. Diplomatic momentum built on Friday, the third
day of the troubled state’s latest crisis, amid international pressure on
Mali’s new military leaders and preparations for celebratory rallies in the
capital Bamako. The delegation to Bamako will be led by former Nigerian
president Goodluck Jonathan, an ECOWAS source said Friday, describing the trip
as aiming “to help the search for solutions”. He will be flanked by the
president of the ECOWAS Commission, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, and Niger’s foreign
minister, Kalla Ankourao. A junta official told AFP that the envoys would be
received “with pleasure… it is important to talk to our brothers.” ECOWAS — the
15-nation Economic Community of West African States — on Thursday had announced
it would dispatch a high-level delegation “to ensure the immediate return of
constitutional order”. Rebel soldiers seized President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita
and other leaders after staging a mutiny on Tuesday at Kati, a military base
about 15 kilometres (nine miles) from Bamako. ECOWAS on Thursday demanded Keita
be restored as president and bluntly warned the junta that they bore
“responsibility for the safety and security” of the detainees. – ‘We respect
human rights’ – The UN’s peacekeeping mission in Mali announced that a
human-rights team had gained access to the ousted president and other detainees
late Thursday. A junta member said the coup leaders had “authorised” the visit
and also released former economy minister Abdoulaye Daffe and Sabane
Mahalmoudou, Keita’s private secretary. “Two prisoners have been released.
There are still 17 in Kati. This is the proof that we respect human rights,”
the junta member said. Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse are being held in
a villa in Kati and are without a television, radio or phone, while the others
are in a training centre, where they are sleeping on mattresses and have a TV,
according to witnesses to the visit. The 75-year-old ousted president “looked
tired but relaxed,” they said, describing his conditions as “acceptable.” ALSO
READ: Mali Crisis: Few hours after Jonathan briefed Buhari, mutinying
soldiers arrest president, PM Those detained, according to various sources,
include Defence Minister Ibrahima Dahirou Dembele, Security Minister M’Bemba
Moussa Keita, the president of the National Assembly, Moussa Timbine, as well
as the heads of the army and air force. Their fate has been a focal point of
international concern. The African Union, European Union, the United States and
UN Security Council have angrily condemned the coup and demanded the release of
the detainees. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday urged a “speedy,
peaceful and democratic” resolution to the crisis while DR Congo President
Felix Tshisekedi described the coup as “dangerous for democracy in Africa.” –
Battered country – The coup — the second in eight years — deals a body blow to
a country struggling with a jihadist insurgency, moribund economy and deep
public resentment over its government. A putsch in 2012 was followed by an
insurrection in the north of the country which developed into a jihadist
insurgency that now threatens neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso. Thousands of
UN and French troops, along with soldiers from five Sahel countries, have been
deployed to try to stem the bloodshed. The junta has named their organisation
the National Committee for the Salvation of the People, under the leadership of
a 37-year-old colonel named Assimi Goita, who commanded Mali’s special forces
battalion. Its spokesman, Ismael Wague, said on Thursday that “a transitional
council, with a transitional president who is going to be either military or
civilian” would be appointed. The transition “will be the shortest possible,”
he told France 24 television. Keita won election in a landslide in 2013,
putting himself forward as a unifying figure in a fractured country, and was
re-elected in 2018 for another five-year term. But he failed to make headway
against a jihadist revolt that has left swathes of the country in the hand of
armed Islamists and ignited ethnic violence in the country’s volatile centre.
Thousands of people have died and hundreds of thousands have fled their homes.
That devastation has also compounded damage to an already fragile economy in a
country with large numbers of unemployed young people. Anger swelled after the
disputed outcome of legislative elections in April, creating an anti-Keita
protest coalition, the June 5 Movement, which scheduled rallies on Friday to
“celebrate the victory of the Malian people.”
Read more at:https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/08/coup-ex-president-leads-west-african-delegation-to-mali/
Buhari unveils agenda for next three years
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Tuesday, listed nine areas his regime would prioritise during his remaining years in office.
He listed those priority areas to include improvement of
access to quality education, health care, power supply poverty reduction.
According to a statement by his Special Adviser on
Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President spoke while receiving letters
of credence from ambassadors/high commissioners of eight countries at the
Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The statement was titled “President Buhari lists nine
priority areas to improve livelihood of Nigerians.”
Adesina quoted the President as saying that efforts were
being made to sustain Nigeria’s position as a profitable investment destination
with unequalled incentives in all sectors, especially large market and flexible
tax system which investors from various countries can take advantage of.
He said Buhari told the diplomats about Nigeria’s priority,
and the need to streamline on people-focused policies.
He quoted the President as saying, “In our efforts to achieve
a realistic domestic and foreign policy, as well as national development, we
have identified the following nine priority areas to guide our policy
directions over the next few years.
“Build a thriving and sustainable economy; enhance social
inclusion and reduce poverty; enlarge agricultural output for food security and
export; attain energy sufficiency in power and petroleum products and expand
transport and other infrastructural development.
“Expand business growth, entrepreneurship and
industrialisation; expand access to quality education, affordable healthcare and
productivity of Nigerians; build a system to fight corruption, improve
governance and create social cohesion; and improve security for all.’’
He said while describing Nigerians as the “nation’s most
prized assets,’’ the President said the nine priority mandates were already
reflected in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, a medium-term initiative
pioneered by the government to restore economic growth and development while
leveraging the resourcefulness and resilience of the citizens.
The President urged the diplomats to use the opportunity of
working in the country to improve relations with their governments and people.
“I have no doubt that you might have prior and in-depth
knowledge of Nigeria’s huge potential which you will hopefully see for yourselves.
“I, therefore, urge you to go around the country, see
things for yourselves, and report to your home governments.
“This is important as you all are representatives of both
your sending and host states,” he was further quoted as saying.
Buhari said Nigeria would remain steadfast in pursuing deeper
and valuable relations among nations, without discrimination.
He said, “Nigeria strongly supports joint action to ensure a
democratic and fair world order based on strict respect for the norms of
international law, the United Nations Charter, recognition of the
unquestionable value of cultural diversity, national sovereignty, and the right
of all countries to decide their future freely, without external pressure.
“Nigeria does not divide its partners into big and small; we
value and respect every country, and with every country, we are ready to pursue
dialogue, as well as build cooperation on the basis of equality and
constructive mutual respect.
“These include our cooperation in strengthening regional,
continental and global peace and security, resolving complex issues, settling
conflicts, as well as addressing dangerous threats to mankind, among which
include terrorism, proliferation of small arms and light weapons, human
trafficking, cybercrimes, poverty, communicable diseases, and epidemics.’’
Speaking on behalf of the diplomats, the Ambassador of
Algeria to Nigeria, Hocine Latil, was quoted as saying that each of the
diplomats brings greetings and agenda from their home governments, but the
bottom line remains to enhance cooperation and seek advancement in mutual areas
of interest.
“On behalf of my colleagues, we thank you for receiving us.
We know that your schedule is tight. As the giant of Africa, you are always
focused on resolving conflicts in the continent, while taking care of your
domestic issues as well,” he said.
The Algerian ambassador said the African ambassadors will
leverage the opportunity to further enhance the implementation of the African
Continental Free Trade Agreement and learn from one another.
The ambassadors/high commissioners who presented their
letters of credence are Hocine Latil of Algeria; Luong Quoc Thinh of Vietnam;
Dr Benson Alfred Bana of Tanzania; Traore Kalilou of Cote d’Ivoire; Abakar
Saleh Chahaimi of Chad; Jamal Mohammed Barrow of Somalia; Brahim Salem El Mami
Buseif of Sahrawi Arab Republic and Mohammed Alibak of Iran.